WINSTON-SALEM – University of North
Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA)
Chancellor John Mauceri today announced
a half-a-million-dollar grant from the
A.J. Fletcher Foundation of Raleigh, to
fund television programming produced by
UNC-TV.

The gift, $100,000 a year for five
years, will expose statewide audiences
to UNCSA’s talented students by
broadcasting their performances over
UNC-TV.

“Because of this visionary grant from
the A.J. Fletcher Foundation, the next
five years will be transformative for
UNCSA,” said Chancellor Mauceri. “We are
gratified by the Foundation’s continuing
commitment to our school.

“The UNC system is unique in many ways,”
Chancellor Mauceri continued. “Two of
them are in having a system-wide arts
conservatory, UNCSA, and another is in
having a system-wide television network,
UNC-TV. It seemed only natural to me
that we find a way for these two
institutions to work together. The
Fletcher Foundation has shared in that
vision, making this fantastic dream a
reality. Surely this will be a
tremendous way for UNCSA to say ‘thank
you’ to the people of North Carolina and
for our citizens throughout the state to
share in the astonishing achievements of
our student artists.

“As an arts conservatory, we are able to
share our students’ learning outcomes
with the public, on and behind stage and
screen,” Mauceri noted. “Creating
product for UNC-TV is a natural
progression.”

Barbara Goodmon, President and Executive
Director of The A.J. Fletcher
Foundation, said: “We are happy to have
this opportunity to share the amazing
students of UNCSA with the people of
North Carolina and beyond, over the
medium that brings everyone together.

“It really is true that UNCSA is a jewel
in the crown of North Carolina, and
UNC-TV is a valuable statewide
resource,” Mrs. Goodmon continued.
“Building a collaborative relationship
through which both organizations can
shine is the right thing to do.” Mrs.
Goodmon is also a member of the UNCSA
Board of Trustees.

The first performance to be broadcast by
UNC-TV will be UNCSA’s all-school
production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s
Oklahoma!, which played April 28-May
8 at the Stevens Center in
Winston-Salem. An air date is to be
determined. Future productions to be
videotaped will be decided as the
school’s performance calendar is set for
subsequent years.

Photo by Donald Dietz

John Mauceri

Barbara Goodmon

Tom Howe

UNC-TV
Director and General Manager Tom Howe said: “We
appreciate the opportunity to be able to use this
ground-breaking grant to enrich the unique services to
the state provided by UNC-TV and UNCSA, and to enhance
North Carolina's cultural experience. UNC-TV has a rich
tradition of bringing performance and cultural
programming to a statewide audience, so this joint
effort is a perfect fit for us.

The
$500,000 grant represents the second major donation from
the Fletcher Foundation to UNCSA in recent years. In
order to strengthen and perpetuate A.J. Fletcher's
vision for opera, the Fletcher Foundation took the
unprecedented step of committing $10 million to
establish an Opera Institute at the University of North
Carolina School of the Arts. Since its establishment,
the Fletcher Opera Institute at UNCSA has trained and
graduated more than two dozen opera singers who have
embarked on successful careers.

“We
have been pleased with the steps the School of the Arts
has taken to fulfill the Fletcher Opera challenge
grant,” said Mrs. Goodmon, “so we were excited when
Chancellor Mauceri came to us with this proposal. We are
hopeful that our gift will remind the people of North
Carolina how important it is to support this great
school during this critical time.”

The
A.J. Fletcher Foundation supports nonprofit
organizations in their endeavors to enrich the lives and
well-being of people in North Carolina. The Foundation’s
particular focus is on human services and education
using grants and partnerships with other charitable
organizations to give voice to North Carolinians who
have no voice. The Foundation operates for the benefit
of the Fletcher Academy, School of Achievement, Inc.
and, in furtherance of a purpose of the Fletcher
Academy, a class of other charitable organizations. The
Foundation supports the Fletcher Academy and other
public charities located in North Carolina or serving
North Carolina residents that have as one of their
purposes the care or support of the elderly, infirm or
indigent, the promotion of education, artistic
endeavors, communication arts or public recreation or
the fostering of religious faith. Under the leadership
of Barbara and Jim Goodmon, the Foundation aims to be a
force for social progress in North Carolina,
strengthening human services, giving voice to people
without a voice, and shaping public policy through
partnerships.

UNC-TV
is North Carolina's statewide public television network,
made possible by a unique combination of public funding
and private support. UNC-TV's unique programs and
services provide people of all ages with enriching,
life-changing television. For more information, visit
www.unctv.org.

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts
is the first state-supported, residential school of its
kind in the nation. Established as the North Carolina
School of the Arts by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963,
UNCSA opened in Winston-Salem (“The City of Arts and
Innovation”) in 1965 and became part of the University
of North Carolina system in 1972. More than 1,100
students from high school through graduate school train
for careers in the arts in five professional schools:
Dance, Design and Production (including a Visual Arts
Program), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. UNCSA is the
state’s only public arts conservatory, dedicated
entirely to the professional training of talented
students in the performing, visual and moving image
arts. UNCSA is located at 1533 S. Main St.,
Winston-Salem. For more information, visit
www.uncsa.edu.